Delhi High Court Issues Stay Order On De-listing Of The Tata Nexon EV From Getting Subsidy

The Tata Nexon EV has been in bit of a controversy since last month. There have been complaints about the model failing to meet its claimed drive range and earlier this month the Delhi government went ahead and suspended the Tata Nexon EV from its subsidy scheme for electric vehicles, till a committee looks into complaints. However, the carmaker too had issued a statement terming the step as "unfortunate" and had asserted that it will continue to engage constructively with relevant authorities. On March 09, the company had appealed to the Delhi High Court, against the Delhi Government's decision to temporarily suspend the subsidy offered on the Nexon EV. And now in the latest development, the Delhi High Court has issued a stay order on the elimination of the Nexon EV from Delhi Government's eligible list of vehicles for the subsidy.

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The Nexon EVs earlier have been supplied as part of an EESL tender.

A fresh statement issued by Tata Motors reads, "The Honourable Delhi High Court has issued notice on our writ and granted interim relief by directing a stay against the delisting of Nexon EV from Delhi Government's eligible list of vehicles. The Honourable High Court has granted time to the Delhi Government to file counter affidavit in the matter." Under Delhi government's EV policy, a purchase incentive of Rs. 10,000 per KWh of battery capacity is provided on an electric four-wheeler (subject to a maximum incentive of Rs. 1,50,000 per vehicle) to the owners of the first 1000 e-cars that are registered in Delhi after the issuance of the policy. The policy was notified in August 2020.

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Tata Nexon EV have also been supplied to several other state governments.

An order issued by the Delhi Transport department on March 01 said that a three-member committee has been constituted to verify claims of the complainants and assertions of Tata Motors in support of the model. The committee will include a representative of Tata Motors as well. Last month, a show-cause notice was issued to Tata Motors by the transport department after some users of the Tata Nexon EV alleged that it did not meet the specified range of 312 km on a single. The show-cause notice was issued after a complainant claimed that the Nexon EV purchased from a dealer at Safdarjung Enclave and registered on December 3, 2020 had failed to provide the specified 312-km range on a single charge. In turn, the owner also claimed that the range of over 200 km in unattainable for the model.

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Tata Motors clams an ARAI certified drive range of 312 km on the Nexon EV.

In reply to the Transport department''s show-cause notice on February 8, 2021, a Tata Motors representative appeared before a Transport department officer with written submission. However, the Transport department order termed the reply as "non-satisfactory" after examining it in detail. That said, Tata Motors claims that the Nexon EV is the only personal segment EV available in the market at present that meets the stringent FAME norms. The range of 312 km at single full charge for the Nexon EV has been certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), which is the official body that independently tests all mass-produced vehicles under standard test conditions. The actual range achieved in EVs is dependent on AC usage, individual driving style and the actual conditions in which the vehicle is driven.